Yes are back with Aurora, their third album on the InsideOut label, following The Quest and Mirror To The Sky. Along with a busy touring schedule, Yes stay “consistently creative” according to bassist Billy Sherwood. Who can argue with a band that continually records and releases new music while playing their classics in concert? It’s as if Yes, in their quest to stay relevant, is chasing the present with distancing themselves from the past. Once that idea settles in, it’s easier to assess a new record without comparing it to what happened before, with different lineups over different eras. Such is an evolution, rather than a devolution that often occurs after an artist reaches the peak of their success.
Getting down to it, Aurora is rife with harmony and melody, Steve Howe’s inimitable guitar work, some of Geoff Downes’ finest keyboard moments, and a worthy rhythm section thanks to Sherwood and drummer Jay Schellen. The cinematic title track lifts the record up and away for a journey that, thanks to the companion video, is straight out of Disney. Without the visuals, it emerges as an orchestrated showcase for the modern Yes of today. Howe’s approach is lighter, yet articulate as ever, gliding alongside singer Jon Davison’s highflying tenor, as Downes’ keys sneak around the verses, gaping bridges and mapping out strategies. The cherry on top is Schellen’s drumming, bolstered with broader definition and open leeway after being somewhat buried on Mirror To The Sky.
Davison asserts his songwriting prowess on pensive pieces like “Turnaround Situation” and “Emotional Intelligence.” Overall, his voice figures into its proper place without sounding reminiscent of the band’s previous vocalists. This a distinguishable trait for a collection that feasibly stands on its own without the burden of comparison. At over 13 minutes with an exquisitely “proggy” opening, “Countermovement” is easily the album’s crowning epic. The multi-part suite, with the writing credit going to all the members, could be a noble attempt to align with other famous longform songs by the band. Significantly on this number and the record’s riffy heavyweight, “All Hands On Deck,” Howe steps up for more lead singing than usual. When Davison and Sherwood joins him on the choruses, there’s a whole new layer of Yes harmonies to take in.
“Outside The Box” interweaves other elements of wordless harmonies with Downes’ synths over a lively, revolving tempo with a similar feel to what the band was doing in the 80s, albeit with a completely different lineup. By the time you land on the bubbly, playful bonus hip-shaker “Jambustin’,” you begin to feel this is the album this version of Yes has been striving to make. Even with a few familiar nods here and there, including the subtle slip of “Don’t kill the whale,” Aurora delivers a magnificent new chapter of the Yes saga as it endures without any immediate end in sight.
~ Shawn Perry
